Louisa's POV
By the time we arrived at the Fire and Wind Camp, all the lights in the camp were on.
When the soldiers wanted to take the traveling druid into my tent, I saw Darren sleeping on the camp bed on the side of the tent and Will sleeping on my bed.
"Let's move him to Doctor Jafar's tent," I said.
"Are you sure, Miss? It's pretty late and the good doctor will have already fallen asleep," the soldiers asked.
"Look," I lowered my voice and frowned, "he's badly injured and I can't save him. And he's the only surviving clue to figure out who's behind the ambush of Alpha and the kidnapping of Beta's wife and brother. Doctor Jafar is the only one in this camp that can save this person's life. Even if he's dead, we have to dig him out of the grave and find a way to bring him back to life. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes, Miss. Right away, Miss." They straightened their backs and said.
When they took the stretcher away to Jafar's tent, I overheard their speech.
"Man, that's a very intimidating lady."
"She's Alpha's new girlfriend. So be careful when you talk to her."
"I've heard of her. Isn't she the one who got drunk, jumped up on the table, and asked Alpha to apologize in front of everyone during the auction?"
"Yeah. She's also the one who slapped His Excellency and jumped out of the window at the Grand Ball."
"Wow. It seems that Alpha is into nut cases these days. Have you seen that redhead Lady Akela?"
"I don't think she's crazy. She's just an idiot, you know."
"I don't think she's an idiot. She survived in a fucked-up family like the Nightingales. That takes certain talent and wisdom."
"Nobody wants to talk about Josephine? I just can't wait to see her face when she learns that Alpha is going to marry Akela."
"Be careful of what you say. Josephine's maids are everywhere in the camp. I saw one of them lurking around Akela's tent this afternoon."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I recognized that girl. She's Josephine's maid. You know, the one with a big mole on her face?"
"Lauren? What was she doing outside Lady Akela's tent?"
"Who knows? Maybe she's sent by Josephine to check out the new girl in our camp."
"Alpha has got so many girlfriends and I can't even handle one."
"What?! You've got a girlfriend?!"
"Yeah..."
"Does she know about it?!"
"Are you sure she isn't a cow or a horse?"
"Oh, shut up. You guys are impossible."
The soldiers chuckled and we finally arrived at Jafar's tent.
"Doctor Jafar, are you awake?" A soldier knocked at the door.
I heard some ruffling noise and the sound of steps coming from the tent. Then, the curtain opened and I saw Jafar standing in front of us, fully dressed, wearing a pair of glasses while holding a lantern in his hands.
"Well, I was about to go to sleep, but now I guess I can't," He grumbled.
Then, he saw me.
"Louisa!" He exclaimed in a quiet voice, "Oh, dear. What happened to you? Why is there so much blood on your clothes? Please tell me it's not your blood!"
"I'm fine, Jafar. I'm sorry to pay you a visit tonight. It's just I need your help to save this man. He's losing too much blood and he's having a stroke."
I pointed to the traveling druid on the stretcher.
"Oh, mine. Where's the other half of his face?" Jafar frowned and said. "Come in, quickly. I have never done two operations in one day, but I guess we've got a first-time for everything. Please tell those soldiers to fetch some clean linens and hot water for me."
"Yes, doctor." Some of them walked away whereas others took the stretcher into Jafar's tent.
"Did you do this?" Jafar examined the traveling druid's skull and asked me.
"No... It was Leo..." I whispered. "He's just a kid and he wanted to protect his sister-in-law."
"Well, that's a very brutal attack. Is that kid OK?" Jafar frowned while taking out his medical box.
"I'm fine, doc," Leo said and shrugged. "Not a scratch."
He was wiping the blood off his face with a towel. There were still some blood smears around his ears, so I took a towel and wiped them for him.
"Ouch! Ouch! My ear! It really hurts!" he protested.
He looked so young and innocent. A bit naughty. He didn't look like someone who could easily rip a dozen grown-ups into pieces.
Cleaning the druid's cut, Jafar asked Leo, "You're Lucian's brother, aren't you?"
Leo nodded and said, "Yes. Who are you?"
"Be polite, Leo. This is Doctor Jafar Sadiq. He's the head of the Royal Academy," I said and pulled his ear softly.
"Ahhh! I can't be polite when you're pulling my ear like this!" He said and pretended to bite my hand.
I tapped his nose and he became tame immediately.
"Lucian taught you this trick! Please don't do that again!" He covered his nose and said.
"OK. But you have to be a good boy. Jafar is going to do an operation on the druid. It's very important that you don't disturb him. If you're good, tomorrow I'll introduce a little friend to you."
"A friend?!" Sparks immediately showed up in Leo's eyes.
"He's a bit younger than you, but I guess you two will be good friends," I said.
"Yay! I can play hide and seek with him and take him hunting!" Will looked very excited.
Then, he started to rub his face against my hand and said, "What's his name? Does he have a name? Does it start with an 'L'?"
"His name is Will. His name doesn't start with an 'L' but he's a very decent little boy. Please be a good elder brother."
"OK. I promise!" He shouted, jumping up and down like a little monkey.
The soldiers came in with hot water and towels. I saw Jafar had already started the operation on the druid.
I walked towards him and asked, "Jafar, can I help?"
He nodded and said, "Yes. You can wash your hands and help me put threads into the needle."
I rolled up my sleeves and prepared to join him.
Leo's head popped up next to Jafar. He looked very curious about the good doctor.
"You're a doctor from the Royal Academy! So you must be one of them!" Leo said.
"One of them?" Jafar pushed a needle into the druid's scalp and asked.
"You know, the ones who have read a lot of books and done bad things to each other. The ones who only marry their own sisters," Leo said.